Road accidents and fatalities in Vietnam have slightly dropped this year, but the number of fatal crashes on highways has risen, official statistics show.

By December 25, a total of 22,827 traffic accidents had been reported, in which 8,727 people were killed and 21.069 were injured.

Compared to last year, the number of cases fell 11 percent.

But officials from the Ministry of Public Security said there were more crashes on highways, mostly due to drivers' bad behaviors.

They also said there were 40 cases of drivers resisting traffic police officers, recalling the latest incident in which a driver reportedly hit and dragged a policeman for 20 meters with his truck on December 12.

Photos showed police officer Nguyen Quoc Dat was bleeding and his uniform was torn after being dragged on the street.

Dat attempted to stop the driver after the truck collided with a car in Hanoi.

Officials said that such violators must be strictly punished and in some severe cases, murder charges should be pressed.